Staten Island burglary victims keen to take a bite out of crime

Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-HammelDeputy Inspector Richard Gutch advises members of the Iron Hills Civic Association to keep cool and use common sense to thwart thieves.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Residents of Staten Island’s posh precincts have reached the breaking point regarding the brazen burglars who have made their lives hell.

“The guy who came in my home walked within five feet of my wife,” said Sal Calcagno. “I’m ready. I don’t want to be ready.”

He said that while he doesn’t seek a confrontation, he’s prepared to defend his home.

“I am not going to let you [police] come and get him [the burglar] breathing. So what is the right thing to do?”

Addressing residents of Todt Hill, Emerson Hill and Dongan Hills last night at a meeting of the Iron Hills Civic Association in the Richmond County Country Club, president Dr. Mohammad Khalid issued a blunt warning.

“I want to send the message to these burglars to stop terrorizing our neighborhood. Eventually, the police will get you. People are getting fed up, and the next time around, you might face deadly force.”

But Deputy Inspector Richard Gutch cautioned homeowners not to take the law into their own hands.

"The guy [burglar] who came in my home walked within five feet of my wife. I'm ready. I don't want to be ready," said Sal Calcagno.
(Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

“The last thing I want is anyone in this room or elsewhere to be injured,” Gutch said. “As frustrating and as bad as a burglary is ... it would have been a lot worse had they or the spouse encountered the burglar and [lost their lives].”

As commander of the 122nd Precinct, he said, “with the exception of the victims themselves, no one is more frustrated than me, because it’s my job” to find the culprits — perhaps two different individuals.

He noted that the topography of the area — large properties surrounded by parkland — favors criminals and hinders cops.

And many of the break-ins happened while people were home, “which is a potential for a problem.”

Gutch told everyone to “be conscious of what’s going on in your home.” Some homeowners have alarms and don’t use them, and some with surveillance cameras don’t turn them on, he noted.

The affluent area has been plagued by professional-style burglaries for the past few years, including a pattern of heists in 2007 and 2008 dubbed the “Ninja Burglar” spree.

This latest skein, on the same winding, wooded streets, started in July.